


Try for your Heart

by Postscript8



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Sports, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:22:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27213376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Postscript8/pseuds/Postscript8
Summary: Catra and Adora spent the better part of the last eight years attached at the hip. But what happens when Adora gets a rugby scholarship to Brightmoon University and Catra doesn't? Will their friendship be enough to survive their lives diverging? Or will a stronger, once hidden, bond between the two women be the glue that holds it all together before it crumbles apart?
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Kudos: 18





	1. Hang With Me

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello everyone! I just finished She-ra and had to write a story. It is a bit of a troupe (sports AU), but I just love the sports rival AUs too much to care about being cliché! Each chapter will be tied to a song, starting with Hang With Me - Robyn. Enjoy!

“Now I want you to all watch how Adora runs this line. Look at her feet, see how she stays low to the ground, protecting the ball, arm extended ready to ward off the opposing team.” The blonde weaves in and around the other girls holding large pads, simulating the enemy team, her shoulders brush just past the obstacles as if she were a feather being carried by the wind. 

Coach Weaver continues her assessment of Adora’s movement. “Rugby isn’t all about force, you don’t have to crash head on into the other girl, that only slows you down, use their momentum against them.” 

As if she had heard Coach Weaver, Adora approached another girl holding a tackle pad. She pointed her body left and the girl committed, shoving all of her weight towards her right side, Adora’s left, but it had been a trick and Adora quickly switched directions, stepping around the girl and running past her into the try zone. The girl’s momentum took her straight into the ground, the pad cushioning her fall. 

“Extraordinary. Now, who is next?” The rest of the teenage women standing behind Coach Weaver began exchanging worried looks, unsure how they were supposed to follow their fellow teammate after such a glorious review.

“Oh come on… it wasn’t that great.” A girl piped up a few rows back, parting the sea of nervous women as she moved to the front of the line. She put her mouth guard in and took a leisurely stretch, stepping up to the starting line of the course. Adora had helped up the girl that had fallen at the end and picked up her pad, motioning for Lonnie that she was relieving her of her tackle duty. 

“Yes Catra, let us see how…. ‘Great’ you can do…” Coach Weaver’s words were dripping with disdain, but it only fueled Catra’s fire. She dug her cleats into the pliable grass beneath her feet, picking up the rugby ball next to her and waiting anxiously for Coach Weaver’s whistle. 

As soon as the whistle sounded Catra was off. Where Adora had been like a feather in the wind, bobbing and weaving as if performing a dance, Catra’s movements were much more deliberate, pointed, and determined. She led with her shoulders, but was still so quick on her feet. Catra didn’t bother tricking her tacklers with fake movements, instead using her rather insane speed to simply blow past them, only shoulder checking one pad on her way towards Adora and the try zone. 

The rest of the team watched on with bated breath, nervous about the one on one at the end of this course. Catra’s eyes locked with Adora after she passed the last girl between her and her best friend. Most of the team would be more worried going against Adora one and one. She was tall and practically built of solid muscle, but Catra thrived off of one on one competition and she could feel her adrenaline pushing her to the brink.

Adora planted her feet shoulder width apart, the bag firmly between her and Catra as the other woman barreled in her direction. Catra wasn’t picking a side, her body wasn’t angled right or left, but instead pointing directly at Adora’s chest. Adora planted her feet even firmer, knowing full well Catra had every intention of going through her instead of around her. It was like every other game of chicken they had played, and Adora refused to lose. 

Some of the girls turned away, not really wanting to see how this train wreck would end, while others just leaned further in, unable to tear their eyes away. It was like watching a tiny sports car go head to head against a 4-wheel drive diesel truck. 

Adora was set up low, intending to use her center of gravity to prevent Catra from knocking her onto the ground with the shear force of her body. However, just before Catra made contact with the rucking pad, she jumped as high as she could, her right foot planting straight into the middle of the pad. She used Adora’s solid stance to help propel her upwards and with one more push off the rucking pad with her other foot, she cleared Adora’s head with ease, landing on the ground and touching the ball down into the try zone. Adora was left wide eyed, both from shock and amazement. 

“CATRA.” Coach Weaver’s voice boomed across the pitch, shaking the nearby trees and causing a flock of birds to leave their perches atop of a set of nearby telephone wires. 

Catra felt her skin stand on edge, her whole body shivered, as if cold water had just been poured down her spine. 

Coach Weaver was making a beeline towards the two girls, anger not even an adequate descriptor of the look on her face. Adora reacted fast, moving towards her coach to counteract at least a bit of the force directed at the girl behind her. 

“Coach Weaver, it’s okay, I’m fine, Catra’s fine… we were just messing around.” Adora had now positioned her body between the two of them, assuming a tall and firm stance between Coach Weaver and Catra, as if the coach was about to run into her ruck pad. 

“The first match of the season is in a week. There is no time for messing around or injuries.” Coach Weaver’s voice was softer when directed at Adora, but as soon as her focus shifted, daggers practically erupted from her eyes. 

“You’re lucky Adora’s between us right now and that you didn’t hurt her. Pull something like that again and we will see who is ‘messing around’.” Catra shivered again as Coach Weaver turned and headed back to the rest of the team.

“You’re all dismissed, but thanks to Catra’s stunt, conditioning has been moved to 6:30am instead of 7. Do not be late.” Coach Weaver ignored the groans from the team as she moved back towards the clubhouse. 

Adora turned towards her best friend, a look of worry in her eyes. Coach Weaver knew just how to make Catra feel so small and it was hard to tell if Adora could really pull her out of it anymore. 

“Hey Catra… you okay?” Adora’s voice shook Catra out of her trance and she kicked the ball down the field as she dusted herself off. 

“Yeah… yeah, why wouldn’t I be...that was awesome!” Catra’s voice was trying to fight off the panic she’d felt only moments before. Adora smiled and shook her head, wrapping her arm around Catra’s neck and tugging her in to rustle her hair. 

“Do that again and you’ll end up face first in the mud.” 

“I’d like to see you try, Princess.” Catra smiled weakly, her eyes a bit brighter when they looked up at Adora. 

“We’d better go if we want to catch the bus. Our history test isn’t gonna study for itself..” Adora moved towards the cones and pads to begin collecting the equipment. 

“Yeah, whatever. It’s not like I’m passing Mr. Hordak’s test tomorrow anyway, but maybe I’ll get a C for just showing up on time and writing my name one the top left corner.” Catra helped Adora gather the gear, shoving a few rugby balls Lonnie had brought over into a big mesh bag. 

As intense as that practice had been, it was par for the course at Etheria High’s girls rugby practice. Adora and Catra were seniors this year and they’d practically memorized the delicate dance of pissing Coach Weaver off and still managing to stay on the team. 

Catra and Adora barely made the 4:00pm bus across town, the two seniors slinking to the very back, dropping their exhausted bodies into the bucket seats. Adora leaned against the window, one headphone in her ear as Catra scooted up to her, resting her head on Adora’s shoulder. It was their normal position as the bus carted them off to their neighborhood. They’d taken this very route for the last four years, straight to Half-Moon, the group home they’d shared since they were 10 years old. 

Adora had ended up there just a few months after Catra had arrived. Adora’s family was killed in a car accident and there had been no one else available or willing to take on the young girl. Half-Moon wasn’t a bad place, but nothing could compare to growing up in a home with loving parents and a family. 

Catra, on the other hand, had no idea what it was like to live with family. Bounced around from foster home to foster home, even almost adopted once until she ended up here with Madam Razz and 15 other kids. It was easily the best place she’d been, but it became home as soon as she’d met Adora. 

\------------

_**8 years Earlier** _

“Hello.” The word made Catra practically jump out of her chair, steadying herself quickly, her stance far more defensive then it needed to be. 

“You new?” Catra’s words were cold, but there was no actual malice behind them. 

“Um… yeah. I guess so.” The small blonde girl placed her bag on the bed just as Madame Razz entered the room trailed by a tall professional looking woman. 

“Oh Mara dearie, Adora will love it here… Adora, we make pies on Tuesday, do you like pie?” The older woman smiled brightly, patting Adora on the shoulder.

Mara, the nicely dressed woman Catra had assumed to be Adora’s caseworker, knelt down next to Adora who had crawled to sit up on the bed. 

“Okay Adora, you have my number, if you need anything you just let me know. Madam Razz is great and she will help you with absolutely anything. Okay?” Adora just nodded silently. 

“Adora, this is Catra, she will be your roommate, she’s a bit messy, but what can you do.” The older woman shrugged and winked at Catra. “You be nice to Adora.” Madame Razz pinched Catra’s cheeks lovingly. “Dinner is in an hour, Catra, can you give Adora the tour before then?”

“If I have to…” 

“You do.” Madame Razz let out a laugh. “Mara, dear, with me to the kitchen, you are staying for dinner aren’t you? I’m making pie and it’s not even Tuesday!” Madame Razz led the other woman out of the room and down the hall.

“Alright, well… this is the bedroom, bathroom is in there, don’t touch my stuff, tv is downstairs, but we have to sign up if we want to use it. You got any questions?” Catra was a bit blunt, but what else were you gonna say to an orphan, it wasn’t like anything she could say could make it better right? 

“Um… thanks…” Adora didn’t think much of Catra’s attitude. She just focused on her things, pulling her suitcase onto the bed and opening it to reveal tightly packed clothing and a rugby ball shoved under some hoodies.” 

Catra’s eyes lit up at the sight of the ball. “You play?” 

Adora picked up the ball, gripping it tightly as if it was going to grow legs and run out of the room. 

“Ummm yeah, my mom taught me.” Catra studied the young girl’s face, noticing the way her voice caught on the word mom. So Adora had parents, but she was here now, which could only really mean one thing. 

“I’m sorry…” Catra paused for a second before continuing. “About your family. Bunch of kids here lost family, it sucks.” Adora could only nod, her grip on the ball loosening slightly. 

“If you want, we could toss it around? There’s a big yard in the back and we’ve got a while til dinner.” Adora looked up, eyes locking onto Catra’s for the first time. She noticed the different colors, one so golden it almost appeared yellow and another as bright blue as the sky. 

“I like your eyes.” Adora smiled slightly, tossing Catra the ball. 

“Thanks. Your hair’s pretty cool.” Catra figured she ought to say something, besides, Adora’s hair was rather lovely. “Come on, let’s go before Razz decides she wants us to help with dinner.” 

Catra took Adora’s hand and led the girl down the stairs and out to the backyard. She didn’t know it at the time, but that sort of distraction was just what Adora had needed and she’d never forget it.

\-------------

_**Present** _

  
  


“Catra, we’re home.” Adora lightly jostled the girl asleep on her shoulder, chuckling softly as Catra stirred. 

“Huh? Oh… shit.” Catra sat up, smoothing her hair and grabbing her bags. Adora followed her off the bus. 

“Hey Adora….” Catra’s voice was deeper than usual, full of sleep. 

“Yeah?” 

Catra paused for a minute, looking at Adora, a mischievous glint in her eye.

“Race ya!” Before Adora could even register what she’d said, Catra was off down the street, careening towards the group home. 

“Catra, no fair!” 

Catra was definitely faster than Adora, but the other woman still managed to keep up, mostly due to the exhaustion Catra was still trying to shake off from her nap. Catra took one look back as they came around the bed in the road right next to the group home. A barrel chested laugh escaped her mouth as she saw Adora vault over Mrs. Williamson’s fence in one quick motion as if the thing was only three feet high, not five. It still wouldn’t be enough of a shortcut to beat Catra as she made her way onto the landing, touching the door a mere 5 seconds before Adora, confirming her victory. Adora stopped just before the first step of the porch, panting heavily. 

“You got a head start. Cheater.” Adora ascended the few stairs and playfully shoved Catra. 

“Yeah yeah, make your excuses princess, you just can’t handle the fact that I’m clearly faster than you.” Adora could only roll her eyes at Catra’s comments, her obviously witty reply cut off by Madame Razz opening the door. 

“Ladies Ladies! You’re late.” She took them by the hands and dragged them both into the house. “It’s pie night and I need your extra hands to press out all the crusts, come come.” 

“Razz… we smell like sweat and dirt, can we shower first?” The older woman looked at Adora and moved closer, taking a big whiff of the tall blonde. 

“Adora dearie, you stink. Okay, shower first, then pies, shoo, off you both go.” Razz practically pushed them out of the kitchen as fast as she dragged them into it. 

“You know… since I won the race, that means I get the shower and hot water first…” Catra tossed her things onto the twin bed at the left side of the room while Adora tossed her bags at the foot of her twin bed on the right.

“Is that so…. I don’t remember agreeing to these terms…” Before Catra could argue Adora darted out of the room and into the bathroom across the hall, locking the door behind her. 

“Adora!” Catra attempted to give chance, but it was too late. “Oh you are so dead.”

“What is that Catra… I can’t hear you through all this lovely steam from my hot luxurious shower.” Catra smacked her hand against the door and sighed, unable to keep a slight smile off of her face. 

Adora exited the shower, a large towel wrapped around her body while she used another smaller one to dry her long hair. She hadn’t stepped both feet in her room when Catra caught her in the door jam, pushing her against the frame and rubbing her face across Adora’s like a cat would against the leg of their owner. 

“You looked a little too clean, princess.” Catra wrapped her arms around Adora and held her tight, expecting her best friend to squirm. Instead Adora froze. They had been close like this before. They even cuddled from time to time and they’d been practically inseparable since the moment Adora arrived, but this felt a bit different and Adora wasn’t sure why. The shower had been hot, but suddenly Adora felt like she was burning up. Having only a towel between her naked body and Catra was all too overwhelming and insanely confusing. 

It took a few seconds for Catra to realize that Adora wasn’t going to try and get away, which caused her grip to loosen. She looked up at the taller girl, confused at first, until she noticed the flush on her face and Adora’s bare upper chest. It was now Catra’s turn to blush, her cheeks heating up as she too realized the possibly intimate nature of this embrace. Their eyes locked and Catra shivered under Adora’s gaze. It wasn’t the normally goofy look her best friend gave her when their eyes met, there was something more and that ‘more’ both excited and scared Catra. 

“Ugh… I gotta get this stink off me.” The words came pouring out of Catra’s mouth quickly as she pushed past Adora, and moved quickly into the bathroom, leaving Adora in the doorway, a hand coming up to her cheek to feel where Catra’s face had been moments ago. 

“Fuck.” Adora let the back of her head hit the door jam as she repeated the word again. “Fuck.” 


	2. I'll Still Have Me

The next few weeks came and went, and nothing had seemed to change between the two women, at least not from what an outsider could tell. They still did everything together, were joined at the hip, and their moods hadn’t really shifted in any perceivable way. But Adora and Catra knew better. They could sense the slight tension that had formed a protective tight bubble between them. Anytime one or the other crossed that barrier the entire moment felt more charged and alive. Even their playful touches felt weighter. A simple shoulder bump or smack on the arm after a joke caused the two women to tighten their bodies, as if bracing for impact as they waited for the same feeling from the other night to appear. 

Catra had probably been the most awkward about the whole situation. On their rides home she’d never nap on Adora, instead focusing on maintaining the distance between them, making sure not even their legs touched. Adora had missed it, if she were perfectly honest, but she had no idea how to bring it up with Catra. How was she supposed to tell Catra that she missed her touch? That she wanted to be closer without them having to deal with what had changed between them. To everyone else, they seemed completely normal, but they knew they wouldn’t be able to avoid it forever. 

\---------

“Adora, jeez, you’re not trying out for some Olympic sport. Slow it down will ya!” Lonnie hollered from the other side of the try zone as they finished their sprints. “You’re making us all look bad.” The junior girl finished her last rep easily two behind Adora, breathing heavily as she leaned against the goalpost. 

“Adora is obviously the only one who cares about her future.” Coach Weaver approached the exhausted women. “Coach Hope from Brightmoon University will be here at our next game to scout out potential recruits during our match. If you have any hope of making something of yourselves, this is your only chance.” The harsh words appeared directed at Catra, the Coach’s eyes locked on her. “Now, grab the cones, backs and forwards split, Adora, take the forwards and hit the scrum machine, then take the second string and practice live. Backs, you know the drill, run the first 10 plays until you have no dropped balls or missed passes. Second string, you’re defense.” 

The groups split and worked on their drills as Coach Weaver moved from the different across the pitch, observing their play. 

“Good, good. Second string locks, on Adora and Octavia, take a look at them. See their legs, 90 degrees from the ground, strong flat backs, driving right into their props. If your legs are too low, or your back is arched, the whole scrum will collapse in on itself… understood?” The younger girls nodded and went back to their side of the scrum.

“Nice job as always ladies.” Coach Weaver moved away from the forwards and watched the backs from afar. Her eyes narrowed on Catra, as they always seemed to, focusing on her moves, as if she was attempting to find any flaw that she could. She waited there for a solid 10 minutes until Catra dropped her first ball and Coach Weaver zero’d in on her in an instant. 

“Catra, why were you not in your position?” Catra couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She was far too used to the ribbing Coach Weaver gave her and sometimes it was just too much.

“Did you just roll your eyes at me, child?” Coach Weaver moved closer to the wing, her looming presence attempting to intimate the smaller woman. 

“No ma’am.” Catra’s voice was not sincere, everyone knew that, including Coach Weaver. 

“Do you think this is funny? Do you think my coaching is a joke?” Catra knew better to not answer that question with even a look. 

“Go, run the bleachers for the rest of practice. It’s obvious you don’t think you need coaching, so just go and do not stop until I tell you to.” Catra let out a sigh, moving towards the tall wooden bleachers as she began to run the stairs. 

Catra hated running the bleachers. She couldn’t go very fast because it was too easy to slip with her cleats and she couldn’t even watch practice with her back facing the field half of the time. She began to count, for fun, wondering if she’d break her old record of 952 stairs. Before Catra had even gotten to a hundred, her run was cut short. The last stair at the top of the bleacher had given way, a loud crack echoing across the field followed by Catra’s scream as her ankle buckled and her leg slid through the splintered opening, wood shards digging through her skin. . 

Adora’s blood ran cold at Catra’s cry. She pulled out of the scrum and took off at breakneck speeds towards the bleachers. Adora climbed the stairs two at a time until she reached Catra who was still crying out in pain. 

“Someone, call the nurse. Now!” Adora was at Catra’s side instantly. The other woman’s foot had gone straight through the wooden planks and Adora could see the blood spilling down her leg. 

“Catra, I’m here, you’re okay, you’re gonna be okay.” Adora bent down and grabbed the planks that were still hanging around Catra’s leg, trapping it beneath the stair. “I’m gonna break this off, try and get you out of here, okay?” Adora pulled the plank upwards, hard, shattering the wood as it broke away. She tossed it aside, her hands now slightly bloodied from gripping the broken shards, but Catra’s leg was freed. Adora squatted down beside her best friend. 

“I’m going to lift you out of here okay, it might hurt a little, but do you think you could wrap your arms around my neck?” Catra’s eyes were filled with tears, but she was able to give her best friend a slight nod. Adora reached down and slid her arms under Catra’s picking her up with ease, but taking her time to move slowly so as to not injure her leg anymore. As soon as she had lifted her high enough to clear the gap in the stairs, Adora moved one arm under Catra’s legs, holding her bridal style as two of her other teammates appeared behind her. 

“The nurse is on her way. I’ve got the first aid kit to help stop the bleeding.” Lonnie moved to the side so that Adora could place Catra down on the bench. 

“Hey, Catra, I need you to lay back, we’ve got to elevate your leg over your heart and I’m gonna grab some bandages to help with the bleeding okay? If it hurts, just bite down on your mouthguard, okay?” Catra nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. 

Catra leg was in bad shape, open cuts everywhere, with a big gash across her shin that was bleeding so badly the bench below was getting soaked with her blood. Adora grabbed a bunch of the gauze pads and began applying pressure to the large wound, taking a bandage to cover the area and help stop the bleeding. 

“Adora… I think my ankle is broken…. It hurts so much…” Adora looked at Catra with such concern in her eyes. She hated seeing her best friend in pain, it was killing her. 

“Lonnie, can you grab a rucking pad, I need to get her leg up higher and try and isolate her ankle.” Lonnie nodded and dashed down stairs to the equipment room. As soon as she returned, Adora had managed to cover most of the worst wounds with bandages to stop the bleeding. She lifted Catra’s leg letting Lonnie place the pad across Adora’s lap. Catra winced, but settled once Adora had stabilized her leg. 

“We’ve stopped the bleed, Nurse Alders is on her way.” Adora reached out, taking hold of Catra’s hand. “I’ve got you and I’m not going anywhere, okay?” Catra squeezed Adora’s hand, gripping it as if it was the only thing keeping her tethered to the ground. 

The Nurse arrived shortly after and applauded Adora and Lonnie’s efforts to stop the bleeding and their quick thinking under pressure. She worked on cleaning up Catra’s wounds and advised that she should go to urgent care or the hospital to see if she needed stitches. 

“I need to call Razz….” Adora was sitting by Catra, still holding her hand. She was about to ask Lonnie to get her phone when she heard Razz’s voice from around the corner of the bleachers. 

“No need dearie! I’m here. The nurse phoned me on the way over.” Razz appeared at the bottom of the bleachers. “Oh my Catra, are you okay? Nurse Alders, thank you so much, we will take her to the emergency room now. Catra, can you walk with Adora’s help?” 

Adora didn’t even let Catra respond before she stood up and placed one arm around Catra’s back and the other under her legs, scooping her into her arms gently. 

“I will carry her, let’s go.” Catra leaned her head against Adora’s chest, letting the other woman’s breathing calm her. 

Razz smiled at the two women and motioned for them to follow her to the car. Lonnie and another one of the forwards began to clean up the first aid kit and equipment. “Where is Coach Weaver?” Lonnie looked around, the coach nowhere to be found. 

“No idea… I guess practice is over?” Lonnie told the girls to head on out and she put a few of the cones around the stair to be sure no one else accidentally injured themselves before maintenance could come fix it. 

\-----

Adora, Catra, and Razz were finally home after three hours, 12 stitches, and one sprained ankle later. 

“You girls go on and head up, I’ll bring dinner and dessert to you. It’s not Tuesday, but I think a pie is in order... Apple, right? Your favorite?” Catra nodded.

“Thanks Razz.” 

Adora followed Catra up the stairs with her crutches and helped her onto her bed, keeping her leg elevated onto a stack of pillows. 

“You okay? Do you need anything else?” Adora sat down on the edge of Catra’s bed, she raised a hand to Catra’s hair, tucking a strand of her wild mane behind the woman’s ear lovingly. 

“No…. you’ve been amazing, as usual… are you okay?” Catra took Adora’s hand in hers, looking at the small bandage across her palm covering the cuts the board had made to Adora’s hand. 

“Oh… yeah, tis but a flesh wound.” Adora smiled, linking their hands together. “I’ll be fine. I mean it’s gonna suck to have to wait on you hand and foot, but I’ll live.” Adora grinned at Catra, as she lightly bumped her with her shoulder. 

“Oh yeah. I’m gonna milk this for all it’s worth.”

“I’d expect nothing less.” 

The two women laid back on Catra’s bed, Catra’s head coming to rest on Adora’s shoulder, their fingers still intertwined when Razz entered the room with a tray for dinner. The tension that had existed between them slowly melted away and in that moment they could just be Adora and Catra. 

\-----

The next few days were a bit rough. Catra had a hard time sitting still and she was getting more and more anxious as she was waiting for her body to heal. It was the hardest at practice. Catra had been advised by her doctor she was essentially benched for the next 4-6 weeks while her wounds and ankle healed. It killed her not to play with her team. 

“So Catra… 6 weeks. That is a long time.” Coach Weaver stood by the bench Catra was sitting on, her eyes still on the girls on the field. “Looks like you’ll miss all the scouting… such a shame. Truly. Though at least you won’t be able to distract Adora anymore.” Before Catra could comment back, Coach Weaver had moved away, shouting commands at the other players, letting Catra stew in the realization that her injury did essentially take her out of the running to be scouted. 

It was obvious on their bus ride back that Catra was distracted. She knew sitting out on things was hard for her, but Adora could feel another cloud looming in the air. 

“What’s on your mind?” Adora spoke as they walked towards their home from the bus stop, Catra using crutches to keep off her ankle. 

“I’m fucked… essentially. Coach Weaver made it clear that this injury puts me out long enough to miss all the scouts... you know that was my one chance to go to college, it’s not like Razz can afford to help me.” Catra’s eyes were downcast, feeling completely defeated. 

“Hey, you can’t give up yet, maybe we can send some videos to Brightmoon, I know some folks do that when they aren’t from local schools or don’t have scouts come to matches. We’ve still got options Catra, don’t give up just yet, yeah?” Adora smiled, placing an arm around Catra’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, we’ll see.” Catra didn’t really see the glass half full like Adora did, but maybe her best friend could have enough hope for both of them. 

“Come on, I think there’s still some ice cream left over from the weekend, I think you need a night of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and ice cream sundaes.” Adora took her bag and moved it to the front of her body, squatting down in front of Catra. “Free ride to the house?” Adora used to give Catra piggyback rides all the time when they were younger, but it had been ages since then.

“Adora… I’m not 12 anymore.” 

“I don’t know, you kinda act like it sometime.” Adora smiled back at her. “Come on, you know you want to.” Catra’s armpits were pretty sore from the crutches...

“Fine… but tell no one.” Catra moved towards Adora and the taller woman carefully wrapped her arms around Catra, lifting her onto her back as if she was no lighter than the backpack she’d just had there. 

“Oh yeah, this is totally a secret I’ll take to my grave.” Adora laughed, shaking her head as she began to walk around the block to their home. 

Adora ended up carrying her all the way up the stairs, lightly placing her down on her bed once they were in their room. 

“See, now that is top notch service right there. I expect you to leave 5 stars.” Adora helped Catra elevate her leg on a pillow. 

“4… you almost smacked my leg on not one but two door frames.” 

“Alright, alright, Adora’s grilled cheese special for dinner then ice cream?” Adora’s eyes beamed. She loved taking care of Catra. Ever since they were younger, she’d felt protective of her. Adora wasn’t sure if it was Catra’s size or her rough past, but Adora never wanted anyone to hurt her best friend again and she’d make sure of that.

Catra just rolled her eyes, smiling at her best friend. Adora disappeared from sight, but Catra could hear her skipping down the stairs. “What a weirdo.” She chuckled, lying back onto her pillows, staring up at her ceiling. Her leg was throbbing, and while the stitches were set to come out soon, she was still sore as hell and not allowed to put much weight on her ankle at all. Even though she was able to get around, Catra still felt trapped and helpless. Adora being her perfect self had really helped her since the accident and Catra couldn’t say she didn’t love the attention from her best friend, but she just missed keeping up with Adora. 

First she was missing out on rugby practice, then she’d miss the scout which in turn would mean she could miss her shot to join Adora on the Brightmoon University team. The thought of Adora leaving her behind made her shiver. She tugged a blanket around her body, sinking deeper into her bed. 

Adora returned 20 minutes later with a tray that contained two grilled cheese sandwiches and two glasses of water. 

“Dinner is served.” Adora faked bowed, placing the tray on Catra’s lap and joining her on the bed. “Alright, which season? The only one I am vetoing is season 6, because it’s just depressing outside of Once More with Feeling.” Adora took the remote from Catra’s night stand and turned on the small smart TV.

“Season 3, Buffy isn’t Buffy until Faith comes along. Don’t even try to argue with me, I’m injured.” Adora was about to speak, but she shut her mouth upon hearing Catra’s reasoning. 

“Okay, okay, season three it is, weirdo.” Adora found season 3 on netflix and hit play, reaching over to grab her sandwich and water from Catra’s tray. 

It was around 11pm when Razz lightly tapped on their doorframe, neither girl responding. She smiled when she laid eyes on the scene before her. Catra was snuggled into Adora, her head resting in the nape of Adora’s neck while the other woman had her arms curled protectively around her best friend, her chin sitting just above the top of Catra’s head, their legs intwined. 

Razz moved closer, grabbing the blanket from Adora’s bed and draping it over the two sleeping figures. Catra stirred slightly with the action, but instead of waking, she just snuggled deeper into Adora, her hands gripping Adora’s shirt with her fist. 

“Nighty night dearies.” Razz slowly backed out of the room, closing the door behind her, a wide smile on her face as she headed to her room.

\-------------------

The match against their rivals from Salineas was only an hour away and Adora was pacing the locker room nervously as Catra looked on, watching her friends' pre-game routine as the other women arrived. 

“Adora, you are a shoe in, you’re easily the best player on the team, besides me of course.” Adora smiled at Catra.

“I know… but what if I’m not good enough? We’ve all had off games, I’m just scared today will be my off day.” Adora dropped down to the bench next to Catra. She began to lace up her boots, checking the studs to make sure they were all tight. 

“Adoraaaa… even on your off day they’d be lucky to have you.” Catra playfully swatted her. 

“Thanks Catra, seriously. I know this is hard for you, but having you here really helps.” Adora locked eyes with Catra, her gaze full of love and appreciation. 

“Yeah… I mean it’s nothing.” Catra felt her cheeks flush slightly. “Anyway, you’d better get out there and warm up before Coach Weaver benches you.” 

“You know I could get used to you being my cheerleader.” Adora flashed Catra a cheesy smile and batted her eyes at her best friend. 

“Don’t expect pom poms or a sign or anything, but you know, I might be able to squeeze in a ‘Go Adora or two.’ “ 

“Adora, field, now.” Coach Weaver’s voice boomed near the doorway of the locker room, echoing against the metal lockers. 

“Right, yes, coach!” Adora grabbed her scrum cap and glanced at Catra smiling as she exited the room. 

The match went well, really well in fact. They beat their rivals by two tries and Adora played brilliantly. At one point she even managed to score a try from a kickoff during the second half, easily running 3/4s of the field on her own. Catra watched the scout as she watched Adora, taking notes she could only assume were positive because her best friend really was playing her heart out. 

As the match was over and the teams moved across the line to congratulate each other on a good game, the scout moved over to Coach Weaver and began speaking in hushed voices with her off to the side. 

Catra tried her best to listen in without being obvious, but she couldn’t hear much. She did hear Adora’s number mentioned, as well as Lonnie’s, but that was all she could garner from the conversation before Adora slammed down onto the bench beside her, towel and water bottle in hand.

“Not too bad right?!” Adora smiled, her whole body covered in dirt and sweat, hair peeking out of the holes in her scrum cap. She looked like a mess, but this was exactly Catra’s favorite Adora look, because she was absolutely beaming. 

“If you’re looking for someone to inflate that massive ego of yours, go talk to Lonnie.” Adora just laughed at Catra, tossing an arm around her shoulder. 

“I missed you out there. Wasn’t the same without you by my side.” Adora had played great, but she felt Catra’s absence in the back line, the whole team did. If Salineas had played any better they could’ve easily scooted ahead without Catra there to stop their breakaways. 

“Yeah… I missed it too.” Catra hid her blush by looking away. “Scout seems interested. Heard her mention your number and Lonnie’s.” 

Adora glanced over at Coach Weaver and the scout still talking on the sidelines. 

“I hope so, I’d love to go to Brightmoon…” Adora paused, not wanting to talk too much about it all since she knew it was still a sore subject. “Hey, ice cream… on me?”  
Before Catra could respond, Coach Weaver and the scout approached Adora. 

“Adora, this is Coach Hope. She was very impressed with your performance today and wanted to speak with you about your future plans.” 

“Oh… Great! I mean yes, future plans! I’d love to talk!” She stuck out her hand towards Coach Hope and shook it enthusiastically. 

“Great, let's chat in my office.” Coach Weaver put an arm around Adora and dragged her away from Catra, Adora looking back mouthing a ‘sorry’ as she was tugged away. 

Catra sighed, grabbing her bag, crutches and heading towards the bus stop. Part of her wanted to wait for Adora, but she also didn’t want to get in the way. She had a few messages from Adora about an hour later, but Catra just muted her phone and tossed it on her nightstand, opting instead to just curl up for a nap, hoping sleep could just make this day end. 

When Adora got home, Catra faked being asleep, not really wanting to hear about how great her talk was or how she was going to go to Brightmoon on a full scholarship and everything was going to work out perfectly for her. Catra wanted to be happy for her best friend, but she couldn’t help but think that Adora’s happiness was going to lead to Catra’s downfall. 

\---------------

Adora eventually told Catra about the chat with Coach Hope. As long as Adora passes her last semester of courses, she’s a shoe in for a full ride at Brightmoon. Adora spoke with Coach Weaver and…. According to Adora, Coach Weaver agreed to send some tapes to Coach Hope of matches Catra was in, but Catra highly doubted Coach Weaver would even bother. It was all working out for Adora, but where did that leave Catra? 

\-----------

“Catra dearie, can you pass me the sugar?” Razz moved across the kitchen, pulling out her glass pie dishes from a lower cabinet. 

Catra reached up into the pantry and pulled the sugar jar from the shelf. 

“Where is Adora, she never misses Pie night.” Razz hurried around the kitchen gathering other items for the pie filling. 

“She at some sort of stupid future student thing at Brightmoon.” 

“Ah yes, you all group up far too quickly. You know… if you need to stick around longer, you’ll always be welcome here, love.” Razz patted Catra’s shoulder, smiling sweetly at her. 

“I know I know. But I want to get out a bit, you know, do something on my own. I’m thinking of putting in an application at Ruby’s, down on main. Pays pretty good and I could get my own place…” Razz paused in front of the counter, turning to take Catra’s hands in hers. 

“You are an extraordinary woman, Catra. You can do anything you set your mind to. Know that this will always be your home and I’ll support you however I can.” Catra felt her eyes begin to burn as she looked down at the old woman. 

“Cut it out Razz, you’re gonna ruin my reputation.” She wiped away a tear, as Razz wrapped her arms around Catra’s waist. 

“Oh please, I know you. You’re a softie. Now, those pie crusts aren’t going to pinch themselves!” She pulled away, booping Catra on the nose as she moved away to continue work on the pies. 

As much as Catra loved Razz and wanted to believe her, it was hard to feel like she was extraordinary. Adora was always the impressive one. She got better grades, was liked better, better at sports, better at making friends. Catra was never far behind, but she always felt like she was second rate, completely overshadowed by the great presence that was Adora.

Maybe this whole situation was a good thing, maybe Catra could finally step out from behind Adora. The thought felt both promising and absolutely terrifying, but maybe not for the reason Catra understood.


End file.
